hard-skinned puffball

Synonyms:

earthball, false truffle, puffball

Types:

Scleroderma aurantium, Scleroderma citrinum

an earthball fungus that is a dingy brownish yellow and a dark purplish interior; the peridium is covered with a pattern of small warts

Scleroderma flavidium, star earthball

an earthball with a smooth upper surface that is at first buried in sand; the top of the fruiting body opens up to form segments like the ray of an umbel

Scleroderma bovista, smooth earthball

an earthball with a peridium that is firm dry and smooth when young but developing cracks when mature; pale orange-yellow when young and reddish brown at maturity

Type of:

fungus

an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia